The Murder of Tarakiuta and Tarakitai

Te Ao Hou, March 1962, Page 32

The Murder of Tarakiuta and Tarakitai Once at Turanga, in the land where the town of Gisborne now stands, there lived two powerful chiefs named Rakai and Kahu. Each of them was in command of a large village which was on the top of a hill, and these two villages were within sight of each other. Kahu was married to the sister of Rakai, and they had twin sons, Takakiuta and Tarakitai. These children were greatly loved by all the people, for they were of a good disposition, handsome, brave and strong. Though they were still young they were already skilled in the arts of war and of peace, and everybody saw that they would grow up to lead their people well. Now it was the custom that at certain times the villagers should bring ceremonial gifts of food to their chiefs and to the families of these chiefs. So much were the two boys loved, that when these gifts were made, they were greatly favoured. Their uncle Rakai watched Tarakiuta and Tarakitai, and he saw the tall piles of kumaras, the great baskets of dried fish, and the many calabashes of preserved pigeons with which they were presented. As he watched them he became jealous, for Rakai also had a son, but his son was not loved as much as were Tarakiuta and Tarakitai, and he did not therefore receive such great quantities of food. Furthermore Rakai saw that these twins were more skilful with the spear and the fighting-staff, the taiaha, than was his son, so that when the children practiced together with these weapons, it was Rakai's son who was always defeated. Rakai's jealousy and his anger increased, for his pride was offended; also, he feared that in the future, when these children had become men, his own people would give their allegiance to Tarakiuta and Tarakitai rather than to his son. Because of these things Rakai plotted to kill the twins. There was a path which went from the village of Rakai to the village of Kahu, and Tarakiuta and Tarakitai often played on this path with their top; they would run along the path, whipping the top before them, all the way to their uncle's village and back again. As they were playing in this way one day, Rakai saw their top and concealed it. When the boys asked him if he had seen it, Rakai told them that it had fallen into a near-by pit in which kumaras were stored. Tara-

kiuta and Tarakitai jumped into the pit to look for their top. Then Rakai threw down stones at the children, and so they died. Then he heaped soil into the pit so that their bodies could not be seen. When the food was cooked that evening, the twins did not come to eat it. Then their father Kahu went about inquiring after his sons at the neighbouring villages, but could not find them. He went as well to the village of Rakai, and there also he was told that they had not been seen. Then Kahu and his people searched in the fields, in the streams and in the forest. When they could not find them, they knew that Tarakiuta and Tarakitai had been murdered. Then they wept bitterly for the twins, and wished greatly to revenge them. So they made two kites from raupo reeds. These kites were in the shape of hawks, but had heads like men. They were so large that it took many men to carry them. Then Kahu named the kites Tarakiuta and Tarakitai after his sons, and he assembled all the priests to recite incantations over them. Then the kites were cast into the air, and as they ascended, incantations were recited. All the people watched to see in which direction the kites would travel, for they knew that these kites would seek out the man who had killed Tarakiuta and Tarakitai. The kites rose high in the air, and then they flew straight towards the village of Rakai. When they were over the village they swooped down on their great wings until they were just above the head of Rakai himself, and then they nodded their heads. They rose high in the air again, they swooped down once more, and once more they nodded their heads. It was sufficient; the lines were wound up, for now it was known that it was Rakai who had slain the children. That night Kahu and his men attacked Rakai's village. They stormed his palisades, set fire to his houses, and killed many of his people. Rakai's son was among the dead, and Rakai himself had to flee in the night; nor was he ever able to return to his home at Turanga. Thus was avenged the death of Tarakiuta and Tarakitai. —M.O.

The murder of Tarakiuta and Tarakitai is one of the stories shown in this carved meeting-house at Manutuke, near Gisborne. The long striped thing is one of the kites; behind it are the two boys, on top of it is their uncle (his full name was Rakaitehikuroa), and down below, holding on to the kite's string, is the father, whose full name was Kahutapere. This meeting-house, which is called Te Mana o Turanga, was erected in 1883.